Night watch
by dayana82
Summary: Written for the just-kiss-her community on LJ. Prompt ""Lester takes one for Jess when a creature escapes the menagerie. He is unconscious in the medical bay. Jess refuses to leave his side and Becker refuses to leave hers." BeckerJess


**Title: **Night watch

**Author:** little_profiler

**Fandom:** Primeval

**Pairing:** Becker/Jess

**Rating:** M (just in case)

**Disclaimer:** Neither the show nor the characters belong to me, they belong to ITV1. Nonetheless, I love to borrow them from time to time. The idea of the story as well as the story itself – including all possible pre- or sequels published afterwards – are mine.

**Summary:** Written for just-kiss-her. The prompt was "Lester takes one for Jess when a creature escapes the menagerie. He is unconscious in the medical bay. Jess refuses to leave his side and Becker refuses to leave hers. I just love Jess and Lester's bond and Becker being comforting is a must 3 Bonus points if Lester wakes up to them kissing and has something sarcastic to say about it! xD" by honestlysweet.

**Warnings:** not beta-read

**Author notes:** Once again, I couldn't resist. The prompt was just too good, and I'm a big fan of the Lester/Jess bond we saw on the show, so…

When the Utahraptor had escaped the menagerie, they had all known it was a dangerous situation. But they hadn't expected it to end like this.

Becker had called Jess to tell her the raptor was heading for the ADD. Instead of leaving instantly, she had – of course – headed for Lester's office to warn him. When Becker had arrived in the ADD, he had found Jess covered with blood and pressing both hands on a wound on Lester's stomach.

"I told him we had to leave," she whispered, when Becker asked her what happened in the medical bay while Lester was in surgery. "We were about to leave his office, when suddenly the raptor jumped up onto the hand rail. He… He pushed me back inside his office and then…"

"It's okay, Jess," Becker whispered, pulling her against his chest.

She couldn't believe this had happened – again. It was the second time in two months Lester had saved her life and been injured in the process. First the future predators and now the raptor. This shouldn't have happened. Not because of her.

Abby brought her a few clothes and she changed in one of the rest rooms near the medical bay. When she came back, she was both surprised and glad to see Becker still sitting there.

"Any news?" she asked quietly as she sat down next to him.

"Not yet," Becker told her, reaching out to take her shaking hand in his.

"There was just… so much blood," Jess whispered. "I… I pulled him back inside his office and tried to stop the bleeding, but…"

"Don't worry, he's tough," Becker replied, gently squeezing her hand. "He'll pull through."

Jess just nodded, hoping that he was right.

They sat in silence for almost an hour, their hands entwined resting on her lap. She couldn't express what it meant to her that he was here, waiting with her for news on their boss. She drew so much comfort just from his presence.

When finally the door to the surgery opened and Dr. Carter stepped outside, they both jumped up, looking expectantly at the man aged about fifty.

"He's alive," Dr. Carter informed them. "But his condition is still critical. If he survives the night, he will pull through."

"Can we see him?" Becker asked.

Dr. Carter thought about the request for a moment, and then he nodded. "Of course, follow me, please."

When they walked into the small room, Jess could hardly repress a sob. Lester was lying on the bed attached to numerous tubes and wires. They had removed his suit and replaced it with a medical gown.

Pulling up a chair, Jess sat down next to the bed, new tears flooding her eyes.

She was surprised when Becker pulled up another chair to sit down next to her.

"Please, don't stay longer than…" Dr. Carter started, but was cut off when Becker turned to stare at him.

"We're not going anywhere until he wakes up," Becker stated.

Jess turned to him, looking at him in surprise.

Nodding, Dr. Carter bowed out. It hadn't taken him long to learn that it was pointless to argue with Captain Becker. The man was always carrying a gun, after all.

"You know, you… don't have to stay," Jess told him.

Gently reaching out, he brushed a tear from her cheek. "I know you're not leaving him," he softly replied. "And I'm not leaving you. We'll wait together."

"Thank you," Jess whispered, leaning into his soft touch.

The night was fitful, neither of them was able to find much sleep. Whenever Lester stirred, they held their breaths, fearing his condition might get worse and at the same time hoping he woke up.

But he always just calmed down, going back to sleep. His condition didn't change, not for the better, but fortunately not for the worse, either.

It was already dawning outside when Jess finally fell asleep, her head resting against Becker's chest as he had wrapped her in his arms.

Gently kissing the top of her head, he leaned his head against hers, allowing himself to doze off a little.

"Anything?" her soft voice woke him up a little later.

"Not yet," he replied, refusing to let go of her.

She nodded against his chest, but didn't say anything in return.

"Shall I get us some breakfast?" he asked, even though he still didn't have any intention to let go of her.

Jess shook her head no, unwillingly freeing herself from his embrace. "You go, I'll stay here. I'm not really hungry."

"Hey, I told you I'm not going anywhere," he insisted. "No matter how hard you keep trying to get rid of me."

"I'm not trying to get rid of you," she mumbled, looking down. "I'm glad you're here."

"But?" he pressed her.

Jess raised her head to look at him again. "I don't want you to feel… obliged to stay here," she explained. "I mean, I'm the one who…"

"Hey," he softly interrupted her when he saw new tears springing to her eyes. "This wasn't your fault, Jess."

"Of course, it was," she objected, sniffling slightly. "If he hadn't… tried to protect me…"

"Jess, it wasn't your fault that the raptor escaped," Becker interrupted her. "And it wasn't your fault that he headed your way. It was Lester's decision to take the hit for you."

"But… If I could defend myself…" she argued between sniffles.

"You're here because you're the best at what you do," Becker said. "Having to fight dinosaurs wasn't in the job description. And it isn't in Lester's job description, either. We're here to protect you, both of you. _We_ failed. It was _our_ fault, _my_ fault, but not yours."

"Still, I should be lying there," she whispered, looking at Lester again.

Gently cupping her cheek with his hand, Becker made her look back at him. "Lester protected you, because he didn't _want_ you to end up here," he said. "And I wouldn't want you to be in his place, either." He had said the words before he was able to think about them.

She blinked at him, not sure what he was trying to tell her.

"I stayed with you, because first I didn't want to leave you alone, and second, because I owe Lester," Becker explained. "I owe him for protecting you when I wasn't there to do so." He had started it, so he decided he could as well finally make his move. It was too late to pull back, anyway; and he wasn't sure he really wanted to.

She felt herself blush at the look in his eyes. She'd wanted him to look at her like this since the day they'd met.

"I wouldn't have survived seeing you lying there, Jess," he whispered. Unable to stop himself, he slowly leaned in closer. He just wanted to hold her, comfort her, and kiss her pain away. For the first time, he didn't run when his feelings for her overwhelmed him.

Jess's heart skipped a few beats when he leaned closer. She could smell him, feel his breath against her mouth, feel the warmth radiating from his body, and her eyes fluttered shut. She gasped when his lips met hers in a soft, sweet kiss.

Becker's heart started pounding like mad in response to the feeling of her soft lips against his. He wasn't sure why he was doing this. He had tried to push her away for so long, knowing that she deserved better than him.

But every time she was in danger or distressed like that, all he wanted to do was being close to her, hold her, comfort her – and kiss her. And if he'd known it would feel like this, he'd have made his move much earlier.

Maybe she deserved better, maybe he couldn't always be the man she deserved, given his emotional ineptness. But she wanted him. And he could at least try making her happy.

"Next time you take the hit and I get the girl," a raspy voice snarled next to them, making them both jump apart.

"Lester!" Jess called out, leaning in to hug him, but reconsidering it. Instead, she just kissed his cheek. "It's good to see you awake."

"Well, I can't probably leave this facility to your hands," he mumbled, grimacing in pain.

"Thank you," Jess whispered, new tears running down her cheeks. "You saved my life, again."

"I'll call the others," Becker offered, already tapping his earpiece.

"Great," Lester mumbled. "Last thing I need is a family gathering at my sick bed."

Jess grinned, shaking her head in amusement. He hadn't even been awake for two minutes and he already was his old sarcastic self.

"I thought you owe me," Lester told Becker, making him turn to and raise his eyebrows at him. "So I'm asking you to tell the others to leave me alone."

"You were awake?" Jess exclaimed, trying hard not to blush. How long had he been awake, and how much of their conversation had he overheard?

Becker frowned, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"And interrupt you while you were _finally_ making a move on her?" Lester said, grimacing again. "I didn't take the hit for nothing!"


End file.
